MANCHESTER – Mandatory water rationing is coming down on Manchester residents during the summer months, as the township recently saw customer demands rise to record levels.
The lawn and landscape watering restrictions – which are defined as sprinkling, watering or irrigation of shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, ground covers, plants, vines, gardens, vegetables, flowers or vegetation – only apply to those in the Eastern Service Area, so people living along Route 37, east of Route 37 or at Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station/Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
A resident questioned the restrictions at a recent council meeting, saying that the township has spent thousands of dollars within the last six months to recommission the wells, but still, there are issues.
Council Vice President Craig Wallis said the issue is simple – “we need more storage.”
“We don’t have enough capacity to keep the pumps pumping all day long,” he said, but added that officials are looking into numerous solutions, such as tying their pumps in with Toms River and Lakehurst, reexamining the wells or building another tower.
“After we finish refurbishing our current tower, then we’ll look at where are we going to build this tower.”
Until then, residents in the Eastern Service Area with odd numbered addresses can only water their lawns on odd calendar dates, and residents with even numbered addresses can only water on even calendar dates. Watering can only be done for 30 minutes a day, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
